Abstract

Introduction

To quantify the prevalence of refractive errors and its associated
factors among female students of KSU and to compare different methods of correction
and also pattern of adherence towards
the guidelines for wearing contact lenses between medical and non-medical
female students.

Study design

An observational quantitative cross sectional
study.

Material and methods

This study
was conducted amongst 345, 3rd and 4th year female
students at female academic medical center and female Business College in KSU,
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia during Jan.to March, 2013. A well-structured pre-tested questionnaire
was used to collect the data. The data was analyzed with SPSS 21.0 version
statistical package.

Results

The prevalence of refractive error among
female students was 55.4% (191 out of 345). Refractive errors were significantly
higher in medical students than non-medical students with percentages of 61.3%
and 49.4% respectively. A statistical significant association was observed
between developing refractive errors and spending long hours in front of
computer screen. Non-medical students adhere more to guidelines for wearing
contact lenses when compared to medical students.

Conclusions

A
higher proportion of female students in KSU have refractive errors, in which
medical students were more affected than non-medical students.
Students
who are at high risk (e.g. family history, exposed to near work) should be
aware about the problem and start preventive measures early.
Further
studies are needed to find out why medical students take less care about their
medical problems.